"Wow, is this Star Luo City?"
"The legendary capital of the Star Luo Empire!"
"Their city walls are truly a hundred meters high and a hundred meters wide, like a cube!"
Bai E and the others, led by Wang Yan and Elder Song, left the Western Army Group's garrison and arrived at Star Luo City, the venue for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament.
Because the tournament was approaching, they couldn't wait for the academy's support to arrive, so they had to come to Star Luo City ahead of time.
Looking at the city walls of Star Luo City, Elder Song shook his head and said,
"These walls look magnificent, but in reality, they have little defensive capability left."
"These walls have been built for ten thousand years.
Whatever they looked like ten thousand years ago, they'll look the same ten thousand years later."
"Their materials and structure are long outdated."
"They can only bully backward armies without flying soul tools."
"With the advent of flying soul tools, they're practically useless."
Maidemus, unusually, asked,
"Has Star Luo City never considered rebuilding or improving these walls?"
Elder Song's kind face broke into a cheerful expression as he patiently explained,
"No."
"These walls were built to the standards of permanent fortifications."
"Rebuilding them would cost an astronomical sum, and no matter how they were rebuilt, their defensive capability against soul tools would still be limited."
"The reason Shrek City repairs its walls every year is because we need to guard against beast tides."
"Star Luo City doesn't face the threat of beast tides."
"The best way to deal with soul tools is still to use soul tools themselves. Star Luo City has a large number of defensive and reconnaissance soul tools inside."
"The Star Luo Royal Family's Hall of Worship is also the strongest among the three great empires."
"Generally speaking, no one would choose to launch a large-scale attack
on Star Luo City." "Therefore, the Star Luo Royal Family has no intention of repairing this city wall that has stood for ten thousand years."
"Let's go, children, we're entering the city."
Old Song led Bai E and the others to the city gate with his hands behind his back.
A general exuding a murderous aura and wearing silver armor immediately came before them.
"Gentlemen of Shrek Academy, Star Luo City has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Please follow me."
The general immediately led Old Song and his group into the city.
During this time, he secretly glanced at the Shrek Academy's participating team this year and was immediately puzzled.
According to past practice, Shrek Academy should send a regular team, a reserve team, and two teachers, totaling sixteen people.
This year, however, there are only ten people.
And aren't Shrek Academy's participants a bit too young this year?
He could tell at a glance that these kids were definitely no more than fifteen years old!
Their soul power level was most likely below Soul Master.
Could this be Shrek Academy's lineup this year?!
Old Song looked gently at the general, who felt a chill run down his spine from Old Song's gaze and quickly regained his composure, diligently leading the way.
Feng Jin and Tibao looked around at the cityscape of Xingluo City, finding it incredibly novel.
"There are so many wooden buildings here!"
"And not many tall buildings."
"But there are so many people here!"
Old Song gently patted Feng Jin and Tibao's heads and said,
"That's normal. The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament is about to be held."
"The eyes of the entire continent are focused here; countless people come here."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the population of this city will skyrocket to fifteen million."
This figure made Feng Jin and Tibao's eyes widen.
Xilu City, following a high-tech development path, only has a population of one and a half million to date.
Shrek City is mostly comprised of Shrek Academy, with a permanent and transient population of five million.
Even the two super-cities of the Tiandou Plain combined don't have as many people as Star Luo City.
The general leading the way explained to Feng Jin and Ti Bao,
"We have regulations here; buildings in the city cannot exceed the height of the Imperial Palace."
"I won't explain the specific reasons."
"But don't worry, everyone, Star Luo City has 30,000 soldiers responsible for maintaining order."
"Even with more people, there won't be any problems."
Bai E, being pulled along by Medmus, asked curiously.
He had almost been swallowed by the crowd because he was distracted by the novelty.
"Huh?"
"Is order in Star Luo City maintained by soldiers?"
This question puzzled the general.
"Uh, is there a problem?"
Bai E actually saw soldiers maintaining order in the distance and said,
"Actually, I always thought that outside, like the Tiandou Plain, there were dedicated law enforcement teams managing the city."
The general didn't continue the topic; matters concerning the system were not for a garrison commander to discuss—those were matters for princes and ministers.
The group then passed through Star Luo Square, which was more like a giant battle arena than a square, surrounded by various magnificent sculptures.
The flamboyant and artistically beautiful paintings shimmered under the midday sun, their unique visual design making passersby think the paintings were moving.
"Truly extravagant,"
Wang Dong exclaimed, looking at the ostentatious paintings and exquisite decorations.
Even as the young sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect, she had never seen such artistic architecture.
After all, her family wielded sledgehammers; their strength was undeniable, even surpassing the Body Sect, but when it came to art, they prioritized practicality and had no particular regard for aesthetics.
In front of Star Luo Square, Wang Yan bid farewell to Bai E and his group; he was going to register for Shrek Academy.
Although Shrek Academy's uniforms weren't the urea-belt-like outfits of ten thousand years ago, their immense fame still drew stares from passersby.
Many were this year's contestants, and countless scrutinizing gazes fell upon Bai E and his group.
This time, Elder Song didn't shield them from the scrutiny, knowing they would eventually be exposed to the entire continent's gaze.
This year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament would be broadcast live on the Magic Network.
Because the Magic Network broadcast had no barriers to entry, the number of pre-registrations had already exceeded one hundred million, meaning that almost everyone on the continent, including soul beasts, would be watching the competition.
This had led many academies to dedicate 200% of their energy to the tournament; gaining fame would bring in a flood of Dream Coins and talented individuals!
"Kids, let's go to the hotel first. We have a meeting later,"
Elder Song said, leading the reserve team and Ling Luochen to the Star Emperor Hotel, located next to Star Luo Square.
This was the most luxurious hotel in the Star Luo Empire, owned by the Star Luo Royal Family.
Shrek Academy, as the continent's premier academy, was naturally assigned to the top-floor room, receiving all the utmost hospitality, including a private conference room.
As they entered the hotel, Xia Die secretly tugged at Ling Luochen's sleeve.
Ling Luochen looked at this charming junior, who was as beautiful as an elf, with some confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Xia Die asked somewhat shyly,
"Senior, have your soul rings and soul skills recovered?"
During the battle with the Gehrman bandit gang, Xia Die recognized Amon's true identity; his features were too obvious, and he had been avoiding her throughout the fight.
She was worried that her brother might be having too much fun and didn't want to return his soul skills to Ling Luochen.
Ling Luochen's usually icy face showed a hint of realization as she said,
"I forgot to tell you all."
"After Elder Song killed all those bandits in one blow,"
"My soul skills and soul rings returned. "
"To be honest, this really taught me a lesson."
"Once I lose my soul skills, I'm practically a lamb to the slaughter, with most of my strength crippled."
"I'll probably have to go learn some self-created soul skills from the inner court teachers later."
Xia Die breathed a sigh of relief, nodded slightly, and followed closely behind the group to their room on the top floor.
"Meow~"
The moment Xia Die opened the door, the Shadow Cat rushed in, sniffing around as if familiarizing itself with the new environment and checking for any danger.
Although it had been practically spoiled by Huo Yuhao's family, the instincts honed during its stray years were still there.
The Shadow Cat surveyed its territory like a lion before trotting over to Xia Die, rubbing against her fair, shapely legs, then lying down on its side, exposing its belly.
Xia Die squatted down, a faint smile appearing on her indifferent face, gently rubbing its belly, then softly said,
"You just ate."
"You can't eat anymore. Father said he's going to strictly control your diet."
"Wait until tonight."
The Shadow Cat let out a mournful cry, feeling utterly hopeless, and lay flat on the soft carpet, its eyes lifeless.
Just then, Feng Jin pushed open the door to Xia Die's room and said,
"Die Bao!"
"Teacher Wang Yan is looking for us!"
"Let's go to the conference room together."
Xia Die stood up, smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt, nodded, and Feng Jin, full of energy, took Xia Die's hand and headed towards the conference room.
Seeing its little master leave, the Shadow Cat immediately rolled over like a fat pig and stood up on all fours again.
Then, looking at the prosperous Star Luo City outside the French windows, its eyes flickered, deciding to go out and find some food.
It gracefully strode to the door, manipulating shadows to open it.
The Shadow Cat possessed both darkness and wind attributes; the wind attribute was cultivated from feeding it the Wind God Fruit years ago, and its quality was quite high.
With its shadow and wind abilities, despite its size, it was surprisingly fast!
"Meow!"
The Shadow Cat suddenly felt itself bump into a pair of legs, its large black head showing displeasure.
Looking up, it almost activated its Spinosaurus form.
Audrey stood before it, gently shaking her finger, a polite smile on her face, and softly said,
"I will follow you."
"The young lady and the master both said not to let you eat too much, to make you lose weight."
"So I will watch you run three laps around Star Luo City."
The Shadow Cat: "Old Wu, ha!!!"
Although Audrey didn't use her mental power to perceive its inner thoughts, she could clearly see that the Shadow Cat was swearing rudely and had already begun a barrage of three 'ha's' followed by a strengthened basic attack.
(End of Chapter)
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